Nature Based Flood Mitigation Strategies

Over the years much has been written about nature-based flood mitigation strategies, but a recent Briefing Note from Risk Frontiers raises the question of whether Australia’s integrated urban water management (IUWM) strategies can be enhanced to improve water retention and reduce flooding using such solutions.

The paper discusses the concept of Sponge Cities which combine grey (i.e. structural interventions) and green (natural strategies) into one hybrid system, collecting and storing water.

A Chinese example quoted aims to improve the resilience to smaller flooding events, accommodating a 1:30 year event instead of the 1:10 year event that the majority of their current drainage systems are designed to handle.